Former USAID Leaders Under Republican and Democratic Presidents Oppose Dismantling Organization

 CNN posted on 5 February 2025 an article titled "Republican and Democratic Former USAID Leaders Speak Out against Trump's Attempts to Dismantle Agency" by Jennifer Hansler.

Five former leaders of the US Agency for International Development have spoken out against the Trump administration's attempts to dismantle the humanitarian agency and called on Congress "to swiftly protect the Agency's statutory role."  

The five former administrators are Samantha Power (Biden administration), Gayle Smith (Obama administration), Andrew Natsios (George W. Bush administration), Brian Atwood (Clinton administration), and Peter McPherson (Reagan administration).

Comment:  A notable absentee from this list is Mark Green, who served as USAID administrator during the first Trump administration.  

A New Strategy for US Policy in Somalia

 Foreign Affairs published on 28 September 2023 an article titled "America Needs a New Strategy in Somalia: A Narrow Focus on Counterterrorism Won't Bring Peace" by Sarah Harrison, International Crisis Group.  

The author argues that US policy in Somalia should be based on support for stabilization and reconciliation, not solely on counterterrorism.  The negotiation part is especially tricky given the challenges posed by al-Shabaab and different views on how to respond to the group.  

Trump Administration and Africa Policy

Newsweek published on 22 February 2019 a commentary titled "Trump May Be About To Undermine Obama's Africa Policy" by Herman J. Cohen, former assistant secretary of state for African affairs.

The author argued that there are indications the Trump administration could end well established Africa programs put in place by the Bush and Obama administrations.

US-Africa Summit and the Future

George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs asked me to comment on the impact of the U.S.-Africa Summit that took place in Washington in August 2014.  It published the brief interview on 13 October 2014. 

US-Africa Summit: Q and A with Shinn

GW Today published on 1 August 2014 a brief Q and A with me titled "What Will African Leaders Discuss at First-Ever White House Summit?"  The questions dealt with the state of US-Africa relations today and what might come out of this summit.